WORLD MUSIC(of the non-classical kind)
Caryl Roese
To some, like G.Farrell (on Indian Music), music is "that most enigmatic of human experiences", to others, like F.Bebey (on African Music) it is "the total expression of life, shared by all the senses". Or, as the Music Working Group for the National Curriculum in Britain described it in 1991: "People of every culture have found a need to express and share feelings, thoughts and ideas by ordering sounds into forms which symbolise and interpret their experiences".
Music has always been an integral part of every culture of mankind. It has shaped traditions, rituals, gatherings, celebrations and other occasions which have brought people together to share and convey feelings. Music is a powerful form of communication which is not surpassed by any other art. It is a creative and re-creative experience which affects all human beings. Mankind does not necessarily have to understand the intricacies of a musical structure in order to enjoy the music. Music has been held in high esteem by both highly civilised and by indigenous people. It has occupied a central place in the mythology and religious systems of ancient China (& probably earlier cultures) and was the subject of a semi-mystical philosophy of the school of Pythagorean philosophers of Ancient Greece. Music plays a dominant role in the myths of the Aborigines of Australia, in the ceremonial and mythology of African peoples, as well as in the Vedic rites of India. These myths acknowledge the political, social, religious and moral power of music and musicians.
Non-Eurocentric Music was discovered and made its entry onto the world stage during the era of European search for empire. Explorers, traversing the globe, discovered the music of other cultures and reported on it. At first it was thought to be 'primitive' or 'tribal' and was not considered comparable with the classical music tradition of Europe. Consequently, cultures regarded as such had Western music imposed upon their own traditions during a period of missionary zeal. Some such 'primitive' music, however, did filter through to Europe, and with the dawn of modern music in the 20th century and improving communication between countries and continents, some Western composers became enthralled with the unknown musical heritage. Under its influence composers such as Debussy (Indonesia), Stravinsky (Africa), Britten (Oriental/Japan), Messiaen (India) Bernstein (Mexico), Copland (South America), Stephen Reich (Africa) and many others brought about changes in the hitherto dominant traditions of Western music culture. Eventually, Percy Grainger coined the phrase: "Let all the world hear all the world's music".
The term 'World Music' assumed its current meaning in 1987 through the need of the record label producers to establish a niche for a plethora of new recordings emanating from all over the world. Originally the term was intended to cover only popular music which appeared on the market in the form of cassettes, CDs and records. A problem arose, however, when all kinds of other musics claimed a share of the title, such as archival music from scholarly research in the field of ethnomusicology and anthropology, classical music from India, and others from Salsa to Soukous, Cajun to Calypso as well as uncommon regional styles and specialities from around the globe.
At the end of the protracted discussions over the term 'World Music' some kind of consenus was reached and it was discovered that whatever one regards as such music is actually teachable in the Eurocentric school systems. It has been proved that traditional, non-european music is very useful, for example, for teaching composition as stipulated by the National Curricula in Britain (to mention but one country).
Caryl Roese spent most of her teaching career to aquaint student teachers with music from Africa, India, China and the Caribbean. The illustrations below show the array of instruments which were used for this purpose. School children in schools where these instruments were applied were extraordinarily enthusiastic. It was amply expressed in the drawings which they produced afterwards.
In all the cultures involved, drumming plays a major part. Caryl acquired her drumming skills in Ghana, West Africa. She stayed there for three weeks with a Ghanaian family, both of whom were teachers. They arranged for her to have drumming lessons from a young drummer who was part of a drumming band employed by the National Museum of Ghana in Kumasi. Their services were hired out for public events and festivities and especially for funerals. The lessons took place in an open courtyard surrounded by several families' living quarters. Naturally, therefore, the children and women of the block became part of the lessons and were a permanent audience. An additional attraction for the audience was, that a white woman was learning how to drum, an activity that few Ghanaian women would ever engage in. The lessons concentrated on getting a feel for and the playing of rythms on fixed drums.
Sometime later, a family of drum makers and players (a father and his two sons) agreed to take Caryl on. They came to her domicile and taught her the art of playing the djembe drum, one of the instruments they manufactured. This type of drum has an hour-glass body, with the durmhead leather being secured by a row od leather thongs. The instrument is held under one's arm and by squeezing the thongs the drum face is tightened or loosened. This in turn alters the pitch of the instrument.
Musical instruments used in teaching world music.
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INDIA ......................... CARIBBEAN ........................ CHINA
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AFRICA1 ............................ AFRICA2
Pupils creative response to the instruments:
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INDIAN ......................... CARRIBEAN ........................... CHINESE
AFRICAN
short biographyAuthor's
Author's publications on Music in Education
